Chateau d'Yquem, the next Lafite?

Lunzer Wine Investments Predicts Rapid Rise in Value of Investments in Chateau d'Yquem

Hong Kong, Mar 22, 2011 - (ACN Newswire) - Less than six months since the announcement that the sweet wines of Bordeaux can be imported into China officially, what impact can we expect to see on the wine investment market place?

Lunzer Wine Investments, the renowned fine wine fund management specialists, predicts the change means Chateau d'Yquem will become the next big winner for the wine investment market. Wine expert Peter Lunzer, who invented the concept of the Wine Price Ratio, is tipping it could even outperform the current favourite wine in China - Chateau Lafite.

"Chateau d'Yquem is probably the best known of the sweet Bordeaux wines which have not been allowed to be officially imported into China due to their large amounts of natural, residual sugar when compared to other wines which exceeded the limit set by the Chinese authorities. However, now these rules have been relaxed, we believe that demand for these sweet Bordeaux wines will skyrocket. From our experience, Chinese wine buyers have a massive appetite to acquire top quality brands so given Chateau d'Yquem's heritage, and the fact that it has a very limited production with an average of only 60,000 bottles produced each year, we believe it can only get more expensive," said Peter Lunzer, Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer of Lunzer Wine Investments.

Lunzer continued: "I expect the price of the good vintages - including 1990, 1996, 1997, 2001 and 2007- to double over the next few years and that this wine could challenge the high prices of other fine wines such as Chateau Lafite."

Interestingly, the 2004 remains un-scored by renowned wine critic Robert Parker and so, despite its exceptional quality, languishes below the radar. With such an interesting potential for the future, we have been including a greater than normal proportion of Chateau d'Yquem in the portfolios we have acquired for recent investors.

In May 2010, the "Liquid Gold Collection" from Chateau d'Yquem became one of the most expensive lots of wine ever sold in Asia during a Christie's auction in Hong Kong. This collection of 128 bottles and 40 magnums was the largest collection of Chateau d'Yquem ever to come to auction.

Lunzer Wine Investments opened a Hong Kong office in November 2010 and has since considerable interest from Chinese investors.

Notes to editors: If you are interested in learning more about Chateau d'Yquem and wine investment, Peter Lunzer is in Hong Kong from 26th March to 1st April and is available for press interviews.

About the fine wine market

Fine Wine is an established form of alternative investment that can offer impressive returns. The wine market is based upon simple supply and demand economics. Bordeaux has the most stable financial market of all wine producing regions, while in each decade only 3-4 vintages out of every 10 have wines of a high enough quality for investment purposes. A chateau can only produce a unique and finite amount of wine each year. As this is happening the wine is maturing and becoming more desirable, which leads to an increase in demand.

Disclaimer: This document is for information only and is not an offer to sell or an invitation to invest.

About Lunzer Wine Investments

Lunzer Wine Investments has been set up to capitalise on the strong returns to be made by investing in top class Bordeaux wines. Bordeaux wines have consistently offered investors steady and consistent returns above general investment market expectations. In recent years, funds specialising in Bordeaux wines have seen average growth in the region of 1% per month giving double-digit annual returns. Our Funds are open to both institutional and private investors. The Funds run for a five year term with all wines kept in secure Government licensed bonded warehouses. At the end of the term the Funds are liquidated and cash returned to investors. www.lunzerwineinvestments.com.